It is Day 77 of our 100-day countdown to kickoff. We are looking back at the 100 most iconic games in Dallas Cowboys history. The countdown will leads us right up to the opening game of 2026. Our look back doesn’t depend on just one criteria for our rankings. We take into consideration things like how big the game was for the organization, how memorable the game was, games that had unusual events take place, games that are a part of NFL lore, Cowboys firsts, and games where the Cowboys just plain dominated. Variety is the spice of life and we have all different kind of Cowboys games to review. At the bottom, we’ll link each day of the countdown so you can go back and check out any you missed.
We bring you to Day 77 of our 100-day countdown to kickoff, where we revisit one of the best regular-season thrillers of the Dak Prescott era. The Cowboys went to Foxborough in Week 6 of the 2021 season looking to validate their hot start against one of the NFL’s true legacy opponents. The Patriots were no longer the Tom Brady Patriots, but they were still Bill Belichick’s Patriots, and Dallas had not won in New England since 1987.
Sunday, October 17, 2021 — 4:25 p.m. ET
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
Final Score: Dallas Cowboys 35, New England Patriots 29 — Overtime
The game started badly for Dallas. New England scored first on a four-yard Damien Harris touchdown run, and after Prescott answered with a one-yard touchdown pass to Blake Jarwin, rookie quarterback Mac Jones hit Hunter Henry for a 20-yard score. The Cowboys trailed 14-7 after the first quarter, and the frustration kept building because Dallas repeatedly moved the ball without finishing drives.
The second quarter summed up the messy part of the day. Greg Zuerlein hit a 30-yard field goal, but Dallas wasted multiple red-zone chances. Prescott threw an interception in the end zone, and later, after Luke Gifford blocked a Patriots punt, Prescott lost a goal-line fumble while trying to dive over the pile. The Cowboys had outplayed New England in many ways, but they still trailed 14-10 at halftime.
Dallas finally took its first lead in the third quarter when Prescott found CeeDee Lamb for a one-yard touchdown. From there, the fourth quarter turned into chaos. Zuerlein made a 45-yard field goal to put Dallas up 20-14, but New England answered with a Rhamondre Stevenson one-yard touchdown to retake the lead. Then Trevon Diggs did what Trevon Diggs did throughout 2021, jumped a Mac Jones throw and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown. Dallas led 26-21, and it felt like the knockout punch.
Things, however, were far from over. On New England’s very next offensive snap, Jones attacked Diggs on a double move and hit Kendrick Bourne for a 75-yard touchdown. The Patriots converted the two-point try, and suddenly Dallas was trailing 29-26 with just over two minutes left. Prescott calmly moved the Cowboys into range, helped by a 24-yard completion to Lamb, and Zuerlein’s 49-yard field goal with 20 seconds remaining forced overtime.
In overtime, the defense gave Dallas the opening by forcing a New England punt. Prescott then led an 80-yard drive, and Lamb finished it in style. On the final play, Prescott hit Lamb crossing the field, Lamb turned upfield, outran the defense, and scored from 35 yards out. He waved goodbye as he crossed the goal line, and the Cowboys walked out of Foxborough with a win that felt like a national statement.
Prescott was pure class, completing 36 of 51 passes for 445 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. Lamb had the best game of his young career to that point, catching nine passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns. Dallas finished with 567 total yards, 32 first downs, and nearly 40 minutes of possession, which made the game closer than it should have been, but also made the final result feel earned after all the self-inflicted damage.
This game belongs on the countdown because it had everything, Cowboys-Patriots history, Belichick mystique, red-zone drama, a blocked punt, Diggs’ pick-six, an immediate Patriots counterpunch, a tying kick in the final seconds, and a walk-off touchdown in overtime. It was messy, dramatic, exhausting, and unforgettable, exactly the kind of regular-season win that sticks.
Interesting Facts About the Game
This was Dallas’ first win over a Belichick-coached Patriots team. The Cowboys had been 0-5 against Belichick’s New England teams before this overtime victory.
Countdown To Kickoff by day:
100, 99, 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 91, 90, 89, 88, 87, 86, 85, 84, 83, 82, 81, 80, 79, 78
